Strengths-Based Counseling With At-Risk Youth

Michael Ungar received a Ph.D. in Social Work from Wilfred Laurier University in 1995. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Maritime School of Social Work at Dalhousie University, Canada. He has published articles in such journals as Adolescence, Youth & Society, Qualitative Social Work, Social Service Review, the Journal of Systemic Therapies, and Child & Youth Care Forum. Dr. Ungar has been researching, writing, and teaching about resilience among youth for ten years in Canada, the U.S., Hong Kong, and Columbia. He oversees a federally funded international research project involving collaboration among researchers in eleven sites on five continents exploring similarities and differences in how resilience is understood, studied, and nurtured. As part of this, he will soon embark on a tour of Israel, England, Russia, and Tanzania. He recently presented two papers detailing his work at an international qualitative methods conference hosted by Sage and the International Institute for Qualitative Methods. He has a well-established international network of colleagues in this field across many disciplines, and many will be contributors to this volume.

“Offers concrete examples regarding questioning and building rapport that are very helpful to professionals and parents faced with (re)connecting and helping youth.”

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorChapter 1. Surviving and ThrivingThe Many Ways Youth SurviveThree Survival Strategies, Three IdentitiesPower and Self-DefinitionSubstitution as InterventionNarrative InterventionsPowerful AlternativesChapter 2. Three Identities: Pandas, Chameleons, and LeopardsThe Stuck PandaThe Uncertain ChameleonThe Demanding LeopardPegs and HolesChapter 3. Six Strategies for Nurturing ResilienceOverview of the Six StrategiesPaths to Resilience: Conventional and UnconventionalStrategy 1: Hear Their TruthChapter 4. From Truth to Action: Implementing Strategies Two Through FiveStrategy 2: Help Youth Look Critically at Their BehaviorStrategy 3: Create Opportunities That Fit With What Youth Say They NeedStrategy 4: Speak In Ways Youth Will Hear and RespectStrategy 5: Find the Difference That Counts the MostChapter 5. The Many Expressions of Youth ResilienceStrategy 6: Substitute Rather Than SuppressSubstitutions for Drug UseSubstitutions for Other At-Risk BehaviorsThe Many Expressions of ResilienceChapter 6. A New Way to Look at BullyingBullying as Coping: JakeBullying and the Three IdentitiesProviding Opportunities for AdaptationSubstitutions for BulliesSubstitutions for VictimsChapter 7. Assessing ResilienceThe Resilient Youth Strengths InventoryEvaluating FairlyChapter 8. Translating the Results of the Resilient Youth Strengths InventoryPandas ShootChameleons ScoreLeopards WinUsing Results to Inform Our EffortsConclusion: The Need for ChangeReferencesIndex